Israeli settlers attack Palestinian farmers in Hebron

Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian farmers in a village near the occupied West Bank city of  Hebron.

The Jewish settlers also let their herd loose on Palestinian farms, local reports said.

Dozens of settlers took their sheep to Palestinian farmland in Tuba village in Masafer Yatta, located in the South Hebron Hills and let them loose so they could damage crops, said Fouad Al-Imour, a local activist, according to Palestinian Authority's news agency Wafa.

The Palestinian farmers tried to deter the sheep to protect their corps, which led to confrontations with the settlers, who were backed by occupying Israeli soldiers, Wafa reported.

A Palestinian was arrested after the assault, the report added.

Hebron is known to be an exceptionally hostile environment for Palestinian residents, due to its high concentration of settlers in the city.

Palestinians in Hebron are routinely harassed by Israeli settlers and occupation soldiers. Their homes are subject to demolition to make way for new Israeli settlements, and olive trees are uprooted.

Israel has occupied the West Bank illegally since 1967 and commits various abuses against Palestinian civilians, human rights groups say.

More than 600,000 Jewish Israelis live in settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, in constructions deemed illegal under international law.

In April, the UN raised alarm over a marked upsurge in settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, with assaults and property destruction occurring in "an atmosphere of impunity".

In the first three months of 2021, the Office of Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) documented over 210 settler violent incidents, with one Palestinian fatality.

The attacks, according to the UN agency, were primarily designed to take over land but also to intimidate and terrorise Palestinians.

The UN group urged Israel to investigate and prosecute these "violent acts with vigour and resolve".